In Norse mythology – and the Marvel Universe – Thor is the hammer-wielding god of thunder and lightning.
In the modern day real world, Thor very well may be the first electric Class 8 truck to become commercially available.
Dakota Semler and Gio Sordoni cofounded their Los Angeles-based electric truck startup, Thor Trucks, in 2016 and hope to have their ET-One electric tractor available for sale by 2019. Semler and Sordoni call the electric truck the “Holy Grail of transportation.”
Powered by up to 800 kWh modular battery packs, the company says its ET-One prototype features a 300 mile range when fully loaded to 80,000 pounds, and the TM4 motor – a motor used in a variety of heavy duty applications, including buses – puts out a massive a 5,000 lb. ft. torque that can be customized based on need.
All that power, the company says, comes with a base price of $150,000.
Thor built the ET-One on a Navistar chassis in order to get a demonstrator vehicle on the road quickly. Once the model enters production the chassis will be designed in-house.
“We are in the business of building a product, then selling it whole,” says Sordoni, who also serves as the company’s chief operating officer.
